


a great honor to hold you up

by ApatheticRobots



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Oneshot, Pre-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 20:33:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28712841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ApatheticRobots/pseuds/ApatheticRobots
Summary: There was nothing actually wrong with his frame, of course. It wasn't the remnants of a lingering injury or some misaligned strut causing him pain. It just… was. Energon was pink, the world turned on an axis, and Starscream got random aches and pains in his body for no apparent reason.
Relationships: Jetfire | Skyfire/Starscream (Transformers)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 46





	a great honor to hold you up

**Author's Note:**

> this is entirely a vent fic i wrote in the middle of the night on 3 hours of sleep cause My joints were acting up and i project my problems onto my favorite characters
> 
> title is from "Two" by Sleeping at Last because it makes me cry
> 
> also sorry for the comment moderation thing theres been some Nonsense happening lately and i dont wanna deal with bullshit  
> no i dont know if this is an accurate representation of chronic pain but it sure as fuck is what i experience and thats the point with this

Starscream knew it was going to be an awful day when he woke up hours before his internal alarm went off with an aching pain in his frame.

He couldn't help the pained hiss he made as he dared to move one leg, carefully stretching it out from it's curled position. Moving it didn't help relieve the aching, though, rather almost made the feeling spread further from his joint, and so he curled it up near his chassis again for lack of a better solution.

He'd barely managed to get a few hours of recharge in before this, and the exhaustion was definitely only exacerbating his misery. There was another flare of pain and a whimper slipped from his vocalizer as he tried (completely futilely) to stretch his legs out again in hopes of making it go away. His fans clicked on as his processor spun to try and find where he was injured so badly that his sensornet was sending so many pain signals.

There was the low rumble of an engine waking from stasis behind him and he silently cursed when it was followed by the creak of shifting plating and a quiet "... Starscream?"

"It's nothing," he hissed, "it's fine. Go back to recharge, Skyfire."

Evidently he'd heard the badly-concealed distress in Starscream's tone, because instead of going back to sleep like he'd been told to, the shuttle sat up and shifted his servo to rest over Starscream's hip. "Are you okay?"

"I'm  _ fine.  _ Just--" another momentary worsening of the aching in his legs and his words tapered off into a whine.

"You're not," Skyfire said softly. "What hurts this time?"

He sighed, too tired to try and keep protesting. "Just my legs." Then he paused, doing a quick diagnostic. "And my hips and wing joints. But they're not as bad."

A hum of acknowledgment. Moments later, two large servos curled under his frame and hefted him up. While normally he would've spat and cursed and demanded Skyfire put him down, he didn't even want to  _ try _ walking right about now. So he just scowled and wrapped his arms around the shuttle's neck to hold himself up better.

"I feel like an invalid," he muttered.

Hold tightening for just a moment, Skyfire set his head on top of Starscream's. "You're not an invalid," he soothed. Which didn't stop him from feeling like one, but it did help. Just a little.

Skyfire carried him through the dim apartment, lit only by his own optics and the lights still glowing outside, and set him down on the sofa. Then moved to the kitchen and began rifling through the cabinets for a couple heat patches.

There was nothing actually  _ wrong _ with his frame, of course. It wasn't the remnants of a lingering injury or some misaligned strut causing him pain. It just…  _ was. _ Energon was pink, the world turned on an axis, and Starscream got random aches and pains in his body for no apparent reason. 

He muted his vocalizer when another pathetic sound threatened to escape. 

Skyfire returned with the patches, sitting down beside Starscream and leaning over to apply them to the worst spots when the Seeker pointed them out. The heat helped a little bit, expanding the plating to make his frame register less pressure on his struts and hopefully send fewer baseless pain signals. It wasn't a perfect solution. But sometimes it helped. (Which seemed to be true of most things he tried to help fix this.)

Once the patches were set Skyfire hefted him up again, curling his larger bulk around him and sighing. While one servo stayed firmly cradling his side, the other moved down to pinch and prod at knee joints. Like with the heat, sometimes a manual effort helped, and sometimes it didn't. At least as bad as the pain was, both of their tried-and-true solutions seemed to be working. 

He huffed, jamming his face against the crook of Skyfire's neck cabling as the shuttle continued his massage. "I'm sorry," he muttered, voice crackling with static. "You could be sleeping, instead you're wasting time sitting up and dealing with me and my useless frame."

"You don't have to apologize," Skyfire murmured, leaning down to press a kiss against his cheek. "I'm happy to help."

Starscream just muttered something incoherent as a response. Skyfire laughed quietly, kissing him again then moving his hands up away from Starscream's legs and to his back. He couldn't help relaxing into a puddle of loose struts and plating at the first press of firm digits against his aching wings. That was one nice thing he'd never get if he'd forgone dating Skyfire in favor of a grounder; no one knew how to make a flight frame feel nice like another flight frame. Even as different as a Seeker and a shuttle might've been in terms of construction. 

He gave a pleased hum as the pain in his wings lessened to the point where it was barely noticeable. He was pretty sure he'd been making decidedly embarrassing chirping noises, but he wasn't positive and he couldn't be bothered to ask. Or feel sheepish about it.

Briefly, he considered apologizing again. But that would just make Skyfire say something stupidly sappy about how much it wasn't an inconvenience, so he changed his tune and instead said, softly, "Thank you for helping me." 

He felt more than saw Skyfire smile where the shuttle's face was mashed against his helm. "You're welcome," Skyfire said, just as soft, and happily responded in kind when Starscream leaned up to kiss him properly. It was as chaste as could be, just a gentle brush of his lips against the shuttle's, but it made his spark flutter all the same.

"Can we go back to bed?" He could still feel the aching in his joints, but it was no longer as pervasive as it had been, thanks to Skyfire's efforts. And in the absence of overwhelming pain, exhaustion was starting to creep back over his processor.

Without a word, Skyfire once more scooped Starscream up and held him close, squeezing him in a brief hug before heading back to their shared berth room. He cradled Starscream in one arm (and the Seeker very firmly pretended that effortless show of strength didn't make him swoon) while he used the other to go about fixing the blankets and pillows that Starscream had messed up with his fidgeting. Once they were put back together he sat down, curling around Starscream as he got them both settled in the veritable nest that had accumulated in their berth. Mostly thanks to Starscream's efforts and habit of collecting soft things.

"I love you," Starscream whispered, curled against Skyfire's front. The shuttle's arms tightened around him. 

He leaned down to nuzzle the top of Starscream's helm. "I love you too," he murmured in return. "Rest well."

In lieu of a response Starscream just pressed closer against his partner, and let the quiet humming of the other's idle engine lull him back into recharge.


End file.
